Grow a Forest with Lin and Sai (a comic book)

8/12/2019 Grow a Forest with Lin and Sai (a comic book)

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Illustrated by Kate Downes Based on the work of Chiang Mai Universitys Forest Restora t onResearch Unit

Grow a Forestwith Lin and Sai


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bout the ar stAbout the ar t stKate Downes is a freelance illustrator,

living and working in London. She becameinvolved with producing this cartoon book,

whilst working with Art Relief Interna t onal,early in 2013. She found a note at theARI office from a brainstorming sessionwith one of ARIs partner organiza t ons,FORRU-CMU, sugges t ng a comic book forchildren and decided to run with it. Forestrestora t on is something very close to herheart and she has loved being able tocontribute to FORRU'S work.

Almost all the subject material forthis comic was sourced from FORRU'shandbook - "How to Plant a Forest", withaddi t onal informa t on from the FORRUteam, to whom Kate feels forever indebtedfor both the t me they spent showing herthe sites and nursery and their very pa t entanswers to her technical ques t ons.

peppermint.illustra t [email protected]


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THAILAND USE TO BE COVERED IN FOREST LIKE THIS. IT WASHOME TO MANY DIFFERENT PLANTS AND ANIMALS, BUT MORE THAN

HALF OF IT HAS BEEN DESTROYED.

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YOU ALSO SAID THAT TRE ES CAN HELP TO PREVEN T EROSION ?

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FORRU-CMU is a team of ecologistsand research students in Chiang Mai

Universitys Science Faculty, N. Thailand,who develop new ways to restore tropicalforest ecosystems for biodiversity conserva t on andenvironmental protec t on. Our unit also has an educa t on team, whichprovides technical training to a wide range of organiza t ons.

We carry out research on the reproduc t ve ecology of na t ve foresttrees and their propaga t on in nurseries. Field trials are then used to

test the performance of each tree species and monitor biodiversityrecovery and carbon storage in restored forest plots.

FORRU-CMU act vely engages with local people to integrateforest restora t on and biodiversity conserva t on into the needs ofcommuni t es. If local people have appropriate technical support andare directly involved from the start, they develop a sense of projectstewardship and ac t vely par t cipate in caring for and monitoring

restored sites, reducing the likelihood of subsequent deforesta t on.

We have established satellite units in Kanchanaburi and KrabiProvinces and we also work with forest authori t es in Laos, China, ThePhilippines, Indonesia and Cambodia to develop techniques, suitablefor the dis t nc t ve ecosystems and socio-poli t cal condi t ons in eachof those countries. We work with community groups and schools,interna t onal conserva t on organiza t ons, government agencies and

the private sector. CMU provides FORRU with a small grant, as well asoffi ce space and logis t cal support, but most of our funding comes fromresearch grants and dona t ons.

The ForestRestora t onResearch UnitChiang MaiUniversity(FORRU-CMU)


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Ban Mae Sa MaiThe characters in this comic are based on real people - the villagers

of Ban Mae Sa Mae, about an hours drive north from Chiang Mai,where FORRU-CMU set up its rst experimental restora t on plots.

The village is the largest Hmong hill tribe community in northernThailand, with 190 households and a total popula t on of more than1,800. It was originally founded at 1,300 m eleva t on, but was moved afew kilometres down the valley, a f er deforesta t on caused the villagewater supply to dry up. This event le f the villagers with a strong senseof the link between deforesta t on and loss of water sources.

In 1981, the village lands were included in Doi Suthep-Pui Na t onalPark, which meant that the villagers faced a legal threat of evic t on. Toavoid this, some of the villagers decided to show that they could beresponsible custodians of the environment. They formed the Ban MaeSa Mai Natural Resources Conserva t on Group and built a community-wide consensus to replant abandoned elds with forest trees.

Meanwhile, FORRU-CMU approached the na t onal park authorityto nd a suitable loca t on to test the framework species method of forestrestora t on. The na t onal park authority recommended the watershedabove Ban Mae Sa Mai and the villagers agreed to accept the project so

they could improve their e ff orts to restorethe forest. This partnership provided

FORRU - CMU with a source ofindigenous knowledge,

an opportunity to testthe prac t cability of theunits research outputsand local labour to helpwith tree plan t ng andmonitoring.


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FORRU-CMU funded a village tree nursery and trained villagers intree propaga t on methods. The unit also employs one family in thevillage to collect seeds and grow the trees. The nursery now producesabout 25,000 trees per year, most of which have been planted above

the village in mid-June, every year since 1996.The village commi ee organizes re preven t on. Fire breaks are cut

in mid-January and re preven t on teams man a re lookout sta t on,un t l the rains start in April. The villagers hold a ceremony at the startof the re season to pray for successful re preven t on. FORRU-CMUpays for labour to cut the re breaks and provides meals for the repreven t on teams. FORRU-CMU also employs villagers to weed around

the planted trees and apply fert

lizer. This combinat

on of paymentsand voluntary inputs has helped to build a sense of local stewardshipof the forest restora t on plots and gradually increased support for thework at the community level.

So now, the formerly bare watershed above the village supports apatchwork of restored forest plots, from recently planted, to 17years old. The villagers have a more secure water source, a supply offorest products and they enjoy a posi t ve reputation as conserversof the na t onal park.


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Research serves no purpose, if theresults remain only on the pages of journals,gathering dust in libraries. Therefore, FORRU-CMU runs an educa t on program to ensure thatall those involved in forest restora t on bene t fromthe units research. This comic book is just one of theprograms products.

Schools Program : FORRU-CMU provides educa t onalevents for both local and interna t onal schools. Our sta ff some t mes provide in-school events, but more usually, school groupsvisit FORRU's nurseries or eld sites on Doi Suthep. Ac t vit es in thenursery include learning about fruits and seeds, trea t ng seeds forgermina t on, po ng up seedlings and learning how to care for themin the nursery. From our nursery, near Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, theresan easy, guided, forest walk to learn about forest ecology and visit thelargest tree on the mountain. Programs are adapted to the ages of thechildren and are run in Thai or English, as needed.

Training for professionals : We also run training workshops of1-5 days for government o ffi cials, NGO's,interna t onal agencies and universitystudents. Our standard 3-day programincludes a day in the classroom to learnrestora t on concepts and species selec t on,

a day in the nursery on tree propagat

ontechniques and a day at Ban Mae Sa Maifor a discussion with the village commi ee

about socio-economic aspects ofrestora t on and to study eld plotestablishment, monitoring andbiodiversity recovery. FORRU-CMUcan tailor workshops for speci c

needs, so please feel free tocontact us at [email protected] if you are interested.

FORRUsEduca t on Program


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Restoring TropicalForests: A Prac t calGuide by Stephen

Ellio , David Blakesleyand Kate Hardwick.

Kew Publishing, withforeword by HRHPrince of Wales

If you want more detailsabout the art and science offorest restora t on, weve justfinished this comprehensiveguide.

Restoring Tropical Forestsprovides a step-by-step accountof how to recover forest

ecosystems, wherever they have been degraded or destroyed. Basedon concepts and techniques, developed at FORRU - CMU since 1994,the book covers every aspect of forest restora t on, from site selec t on,engaging local communi t es, fund-raising and formula t ng project plans,to plan t ng trees and monitoring progress. It also explains how to carryout research to re ne restora t on methods and adapt them to localecological and socio-economic condi t ons.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in restoringtropical forests, including prac tt oners, researchers, students and policymakers and an essen t al read for those involved growing forests to storecarbon. The printed book can be ordered through the Kew website(www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=1035) or viewed forfree through our website (www.forru.org/en/content.php?mid=78).


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Offi ces of the Forest Restora t onResearch Unit are located in theHerbarium Building of Chiang MaiUniversitys Biology Department.

How to ContactFORRU-CMU

Postal Address:-Forest Restora t on Research Unitc/o Dr. Stephen EllioBiology Department Science FacultyChiang Mai UniversityHuaykaew Rd, Chiang MaiThailand 50200

Tel :-053 943346 or 3348 ext 1114, 1134

081 531 0894Email:-

stephen_ellio [email protected] (for general enquiries in English)[email protected] (for general enquiries in Thai)[email protected] (for educa t on enquiries)

Our website for books and other archived

informat

on:-www.forru.org

Our Facebook page for current ac t vit es:-www.facebook.com/forestrestora t onresearchunit

Our YouTube Channel:-www.youtube.com/user/FORRUCMU


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The mission of Art Relief Interna t onal is to promote awareness ofsigni cant social issues and inspire change, while cul t vat ng crea t vityamong struggling social groups. ARI o ff ers individuals and groupssomething rare: an accep t ng and therapeu t c atmosphere that notonly fosters an apprecia t on for art, but provides an outlet to cope with

the di ffi cult es of everyday life.

ARI uses all forms of art, from pain t ng anddrawing to dance and drama. We encourage

self-explora t on as a means to heal, have fun,and restore the mind, body, and soul.

Art Relief Interna t onals workshops are planned and implemented entirely by

volunteers. These wonderful people comefrom all over the world to live and work

in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Please see our blog, art-relief blogspot.com, to keep up with our workshopsand get inspired to create. You can also

follow us on facebook (www.facebook. com/artreliefinternational) and

instagram (@artrelie nterna t onal)to see the work that we do and

get an insight into the volunteerexperience.


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A Few Words fromOur Sponsor

When it is very hot, do you like to goand sit under the shade of a tree andlisten to the leaves rustling in the breeze?It is cool and if you look up you can seethe pa erns of the leaves as they moveagainst the sky. Trees are very importantto us, not just because they give us shade.They provide wood for our houses andfurniture, and fuel for cooking food. They

ensure that soil is not washed away byheavy rains and they look beau t ful.

But that is not all. They produce oxygen which we must breathe, if weare to stay alive. They also capture carbon dioxide. Did you know thatmost scien t sts believe that the climate of the world is rapidly changing,because there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

In my life t me we have cut down so many trees that we have

seriously reduced the ability of forests to capture carbon dioxide andprovide us with oxygen. It is very important that we replace the forestswe have destroyed so that they can con t nue to give us wood, oxygen,capture carbon dioxide and be beau t ful. But just plan t ng trees is notenough. Forests are complex ecosystems, with many species of trees,plants, insects, fungi, animals and birds. Their lives are interlinked andthey o f en depend on each other. For example, animals o f en eat thefruits of the trees and by doing so transport the seeds to other parts ofthe forest.

Dr Stephen Ellio and his team at the Forest Restora t on ResearchUnit at Chiang Mai University have developed e ff ec t ve and sustainableways of restoring complex forest ecosystems and the wildlife theysupport. Based on their work, Kate Downes has produced this wonderfulbook for children that explains how forests may be restored to theirformer glory and I am delighted to be able to support its publica t on.

I hope that you enjoy it and that it mot

vates you to do somethingthat will preserve our forests so everyone can sit in the shade of a tree

Documents

Grow a Forest with Lin and Sai (a comic book)